CleanTechies
  • Home
  • Articles
    • Clean Transportation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Green Building
    • Renewable Energy
    • Recycling & Waste
    • Water & Conservation
  • Contact
    • Editorial
      • General Inquiries
      • Article Submission
    • Advertising
      • Advertising & Sponsorship
      • Guidelines
      • Media Kit
  • Are you a CleanTechie?

CleanTechies

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Clean Transportation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Green Building
    • Renewable Energy
    • Recycling & Waste
    • Water & Conservation
  • Contact
    • Editorial
      • General Inquiries
      • Article Submission
    • Advertising
      • Advertising & Sponsorship
      • Guidelines
      • Media Kit
  • Are you a CleanTechie?
Tag:

Smart Grid

Cleantech in Court: Green Patent Complaint Update

Cleantech in Court: Green Patent Complaint Update

written by Eric Lane

Several new green patent lawsuits were filed in the last couple of months in the areas of LEDs, smart grid technologies, concentrated solar power, solar inverters, green dry cleaning solvents, and water treatment.

LEDs

Cree, Inc. v. Harvatek Corporation et al.

North Carolina LED maker Cree filed a couple of patent infringement suits in September and October.  In the first, Cree sued Harvatek for alleged infringement of six patents relating to white light LED technology.  The complaint was filed September 15, 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

Three of the asserted patents are of a first patent family and share the same title.  Another two are part of a second family and share a title.  The patents-in-suit are as follows:

U.S. Patent No. 6,600,175, entitled “Solid state white light emitter and display using same”

U.S. Patent No. 7,943,945, entitled “Solid state white light emitter and display using same”

U.S. Patent No. 8,659,034, entitled “Solid state white light emitter and display using same” (’034 Patent)

U.S. Patent No. 7,910,938, entitled “Encapsulant profile for light emitting diodes” (’938 Patent)

U.S. Patent No. 8,766,298, entitled “Encapsulant profile for light emitting diodes” (’298 Patent)

U.S. Patent No. 8,362,605, entitled “Apparatus and method for use in mounting electronic elements”

The complaint alleges that a number of Harvatek’s white LED products infringe the patents.

Cree, Inc. v. Honeywell International Inc.

The second suit accuses Honeywell of infringing the ’034, ’938, and ’298 Patents as well as U.S. Patent No. 8,860,058, entitled “Solid state white light emitter and display using same.”

Filed in the Western District of Wisconsin on October 28, 2014, the complaint alleges that Honeywell’s Automation and Control Systems and Aerospace business units are selling infringing products using Cree’s patent white LED technology for backlighting.

The accused products include liquid crystal display devices in Honeywell’s Aviation Lighting and Cockpit Displays, Environment & Combustion Controls, Scanning and Mobility devices, and Measurement and Control Systems as well as certain programmable thermostat products.

Smart Grid

Endeavor MeshTech, Inc. v. EnergyHub, Inc.

On October 14, 2014, Endeavor MeshTech (a wholly-owned subsidiary of patent monetization firm Endeavor IP) filed a patent infringement complaint against Brooklyn-based EnergyHub in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The complaint (Endeavor complaint part_1; Endeavor complaint part_2) accuses EnergyHub of infringing three patents in a family – U.S. Patent Nos. 7,379,981,   8,700,749, and 8,855,019, each entitled “Wireless communication enabled meter and network.”  The patents-in-suit relate to a self-configuring wireless network including a number vnodes and VGATES.

According to the complaint, EnergyHub’s self-configuring wireless network marketed and sold under the name of its Mercury platform infringe the patents.

Concentrated Solar Power

Schott Solar CSP GmbH v. SkyFuel, Inc. et al.

Schott filed suit against SkyFuel and Weihai Golden Solar October 23, 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.  The complaint alleges infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,013,887 (’887 Patent) relating to solar absorption receivers used in certain concentrated solar power (CSP) applications.

Entitled “Absorber pipe for solar heating applications,” the ’887 Patent is directed to an absorber pipe having a central metal pipe, a sleeve tube, folding bellows, and an expansion compensation device that connects the metal pipe and sleeve tube so that they can slide relative to each other.

According to the complaint, the defendants sell infringing receivers and/or build and install CSP plants incorporating infringing receivers.

Solar Inverters

Enphase Energy, Inc. v. SolarBridge Technologies, Inc.

Inverter maker Enphase Energy sued SolarBridge, alleging infringement of three patents relating to solar inverter technology.  The complaint was filed October 10, 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The asserted patents are U.S. Patent Nos. 7,768,155 and 8,035,257, both entitled “Method and apparatus for improved burst mode during power conversion” and U.S. Patent No. 7,986,122, entitled “Method and apparatus for power conversion with maximum power point tracking and burst mode capability.”

The patents relate to systems and methods for converting DC power generated by solar panels to AC power for the electric grid and includes methodology for storing energy and drawing energy during burst periods and controlling burst modes to improve efficiency in low sunlight conditions.

The accused products are SolarBridge’s Pantheon microinverter and TrueAC module.

Green Dry Cleaning Solvents

GreenEarth Cleaning, L.L.C. v. Glyndon Laundry, Inc. d/b/a Glyndon Lord Baltimore Cleaners

Filed September 22, 2014 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, GreenEarth’s complaint accuses Glyndon of, among other things, patent and trademark infringement.

GreenEarth alleges that Glyndon is infringing its “base” patent – U.S. Patent No. 5,942,007 (’007 Patent) – as well as nine other patents which are “variations” of the ’007 Patent.  The ’007 Patent is entitled “Dry cleaning method and solvent” and directed to methods of dry cleaning clothes using a cleaning fluid including a cyclic siloxane composition.

GreenEarth also accuses Glyndon of infringing its trademarks including its leaf and water droplet logo:

green-earth-new-logo

According to the complaint, GreenEarth licensed its trademarks and patented processes to Glyndon, but Glyndon stopped paying the requisite fees after August 2013 and continued to use the licensed intellectual property.

Water Treatment

Deerpoint Group, Inc. v. Acqua Concepts, Inc. (DBA Ag Water Chemical of California)

Deerpoint, a provider of water treatment solutions for the agriculture industry, sued Acqua and two former Deerpoint employees in federal court in Fresno, California.

Filed September 25, 2014, the complaint accuses Acqua of infringing U.S. Patent Nos. 6,238,573 (’573 Patent) and 7,638,064 (’064 Patent) and alleges that its former employees misappropriated trade secrets including confidential products and services, client lists, and pricing information.

The ’573 Patent is entitled “Water treatment” and directed to a process for producing chlorine for water treatment including blending calcium hypochlorite and water  to form a saturated solution of calcium hypochlorite and a sink of calcium hypochlorite and feeding chlorinated water to a water supply.

The ’064 Patent is verbosely titled “Continuously feeding chlorine to the irrigation system, monitoring an outer field point to determine whether at least a detectable level of residual chlorine is seen at that point, whereby chlorination disinfection system-wide is achieved.”



November 21, 2014 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Denmark Announces 100% Renewable Goal

Denmark Announces 100% Renewable Goal

written by

Denmark has just one-upped its status as the most cutting edge sustainable country in the world. They have committed to a goal of 100% renewable energy by the year 2050. That goal is not just limited to electric generation as other countries have done. They are including transportation as well. No burning of fossil fuels by 2050.

If that seems like an unrealistically lofty goal, keep in mind that these are the Danes we are talking about, who already get over 40% of their electricity from over 5,000 wind turbines, with every intention of making that 50% by 2020. Fossil fuel consumption is expected to fall by 20% over that same period.

While wind has carried most of the weight going forward, the latest initiative is more comprehensive. For starters, energy efficiency will play a major role. An intermediate target is looking for a 7% overall decrease in consumption from 2010 levels by 2020. Energy companies will be given specific targets.

Industrial heating and cooling is also a major part of the plan. Biomass will be substituted for coal on a large scale, for both heating and electricity. Subsidies will be provided for geothermal energy.

Also included are subsidies for energy efficient production processes, combined heat and power (CHP) applications, biogas, and smart grid. You could say the Danes are leaving no stone unturned in their search for a totally clean energy future.

What makes Denmark so successful while so many other nations are falling short?

According to Kurt Kornbluth, director of the Program for International Energy Technologies at the University of California, Davis, the first thing is that the government and the people are in accord. The government is willing to enact policies directed towards this shared goal, including a carbon tax, and feed-in tariffs, which the people were willing to accommodate. It also helps that as Rasmus Helveg Petersen, Minister for Climate, Energy and Building, has said, Denmark has been focusing on energy in a concerted manner ever since the oil crisis of 1973.

The second thing the Danes did was to establish wind cooperatives which funneled profits from excess power generation back to individuals and communities. BY 2001, the cooperative had over 100,000 members and owned a total of 86% of the nation’s wind power. That’s buy-in with a capital “B”.”When they see those turbines spinning,” said Kornbluth, they don’t say, that’s ugly, they say, that’s income.”

The third and final factor was a little bit of geopolitical luck. Denmark is positioned between Norway, home of abundant hydropower, and Sweden, which has lots of nuclear. The two form a gigantic grid that can readily provide backup when Denmark needs it. They can often be counted on to purchase excess wind power from Denmark when it is available as well.

Despite all of this good news, the Danes are facing some new challenges as they push into these unprecedented levels of renewable generation. As they are beginning to find out, each electrical grid has a level of renewables that they can economically support before they become saturated. That’s because the “baseline” power plants, that run on gas, coal, or nuclear are no longer economical if they are only used once in a while, when the wind has stopped or the sun has set. That’s because they can’t compete the rest of the time, with energy sources that are essentially free.

It’s not that this can’t be done. It’s just that the system hasn’t been designed for it. Real-time pricing and energy storage, an option that California is aggressively pursuing, and smart grids are some tools that can be applied. In the meantime, some utilities are being subsidized to operate plants at a loss, which is not sustainable.

“We are really worried about this situation,” Anders Stouge, the deputy director general of the Danish Energy Association, said. “If we don’t do something, we will in the future face higher and higher risks of blackouts.”

All of this is before Denmark has really started to ramp up on electric vehicles. That could put considerable further strain on the electric. But it could also be a blessing in disguise. Tens of thousands of electric cars could serve as a massive electric storage reservoir at times when most of those vehicles are parked, like at night. This is a synergistic relationship that the architects of tomorrow’s smart grid are counting on.

Article by RP Siegel of Justmeans, appearing courtesy 3BL Media.



November 18, 2014 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Who Owns All the Smart Grid Patents?

Who Owns All the Smart Grid Patents?

written by Eric Lane

Ever wonder who owns all the smart grid patents?  With all of the acquisitions in smart grid (see, e.g., here and here), it seems a lot of folks have been considering the question.

A recent study by patent analytics firm Relecura on smart grid patent holders seeks to answer this question.  It turns out the top five are ABB, GE, Panasonic, Siemens, and Toshiba:

Smart-Grid-Top-Patent-Holders

The study breaks out the results by six sub-technology categories (communications, software, smart meters, sensors, substation automation, and distribution automation) and lists the top large entities and SMEs in each subcategory:

Smart-Grid-Top-Sub-techs-1

Smart-Grid-Top-Sub-techs-2

The full report, which can be found here, styles itself a “preliminary survey of the Smart Grid assignee landscape and first-cut identification of patent asset holders in Smart Grid technology.”

According to Relecura, the purpose of the study is to identify potential licensees and acquisitions targets for each of the sub-technologies.  The study uses 2008 as a reference year, and defines its Potential Licensees and Potential Acquisitions Targets relative to that year.

More particularly, Potential Licensees are entities whose patent applications were filed in 2008 or later while Potential Acquisitions Targets are typically small or medium sized entities with granted patents from applications filed in 2008 or earlier.  In other words, small companies and SMEs with relatively mature patent portfolios are deemed more ripe for acquisition and those with younger patent portfolios are thought to be more amenable to licensing IP.

With so much activity in smart grid M&A, this report could be useful to a lot of people.



March 26, 2014 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
UCSD Microgrid Showcases Smart Grid Opportunities

UCSD Microgrid Showcases Smart Grid Opportunities

written by Debrah Dubay

National infrastructures from the grid, and bridges to pipelines in major urban areas are aging and in serious need for redesign and rebuilding. Mission critical microgrids at universities are a leading example of what is possible for the nation’s grid security and the savings they provide to a community could pay for other infrastructure repairs that will be necessary in the coming years.

The University of California at San Diego (UCSD) is taking the lead in developing one of the most sophisticated community power grids in the nation. The ability to island from the local grid in times of peak demand or other crisis is critical for universities to guarantee power for valuable research taking place on campuses, to guarantee the welfare of its students and faculty and other mission critical infrastructure on its campuses.

National and local incentives and grants helped the university purchase some of the new technology that provide financial savings, increase energy efficiency and energy security benefits. The systems now save the school as much as $850,000 a month in utility bills. Across the US conversations about the growing necessity for grid security and smart grids are a growing interest.

UCSD started to diversify their grid in 1962 with two natural-gas cogenerators for the central plant designed to provide gas-fired electricity as well as district heating and cooling for the school’s buildings. Over the years, UCSD gained self-sufficiency by adding steam turbines, solar photovoltaic panels, fuel cells and energy storage.

Power resources across the campus now operate under the control of a sophisticated energy management system, enabling the campus microgrid to generate, store and dispatch electricity as needed for the university and ultimately providing 92 percent of electricity used on campus. The school has become a magnet for new technology and continues to diversify and add to its grid capacity.

Byron Washom is a solar and cleantech entrepreneur who came out of semi-retirement to work at UC San Diego when his son came to the university as an undergraduate. Washom is the chief organizer, fundraiser, motivator and connector of the microgrid. A recent article by Energy & Environment News noted a conversation with David Weil. “When Washom came to campus six years ago, his eyes lit up, and he said, ‘This is the perfect place to do a microgrid,’ said David Weil, a former sustainability director at the university.”

Diverse and innovative technology including CHP, solar PV, backup storage and charging stations in use at UCSD provide a test market showcasing smart grid opportunities that increase energy efficiency, provide energy security and have the ability to save communities millions of dollars annually.

 



March 24, 2014 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Corpus Christi to Host Sixth Annual IEEE GreenTech Conference

Corpus Christi to Host Sixth Annual IEEE GreenTech Conference

written by CleanTechies Staff

Sponsored by IEEE USA, IEEE Region 5, and IEEE, Corpus Christi hosts the sixth annual IEEE GreenTech 2014 Conference, April 3 – 4, 2014. The conference provides the opportunity to for academia, industry, as well as other organizations to present unpublished, original papers on the field of Green Technology, and offer presentations, workshops, and invited talks in related fields.

“This year’s theme is SOW the Seeds of our Future,” said Ruby Mehrubeoglu, the conference chairman. The theme, an acronym for Solar, Ocean, and Wind, focuses on green technology that is deployed in coastal and marine environments. Mehrubeoglu said many excellent “papers on Clean Technology, Green Technology, and Renewable Energy will be presented.” Security has become important to coastal communities who anticipate the keynote luncheon speaker on opening day, Phrantceena Halres, CEO of Total Protection Services Global, with her topic, Green Vulnerabilities and Avoiding Disaster.

Energy topics to be discussed will include:

  • Ocean/Tidal/Wind/Solar/
  • Geothermal Energy Conversion
  • Green Energy Generation and Storage
  • Green Energy Transmission and Distribution, Smartgrid
  • Biomass, Bio-Fuel as Green Energy
  • Green Buildings
  • Green Energy Policies, Management and Control
  • Green Energy Pedagogy and Curricula

Student Competitions in Circuit Design, Ethics, Technical Papers, and Robotics will immediately follow the Conference on April 5, 2014.

More information about the Conference, registration, and paper/abstract submissions, IEEE R5 annual meeting and student competitions, and other activities visit www.ieeegreentech.org



March 21, 2014 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

Smart Grid Concepts from the U.S. Department of Energy

written by Walter Wang

Here’s a video just posted on the ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy) YouTube video channel, presenting a bit of information on the U.S. Department of Energy’s involvement in smart grid.

By design, it’s not very detailed; it covers a great

Continue Reading


February 25, 2014 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

Green Charge Networks Uses Storage to Smooth Out Peak Demand

written by Walter Wang

Although everyone enjoys the numerous benefits of electricity delivered to their home, no one likes to pay the bills. Perhaps that’s due to an intuition that energy is inherently free, or maybe we just don’t like paying bills. In fact, it’s the availability of energy that we are actually paying for, as much if not more than the energy itself.

Continue Reading


February 12, 2014 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

Clever Smart Grid Start-up

written by Walter Wang

Khosla Ventures recently led a round of $5 million in financing for Bidgely, a smart grid start-up that “disaggregates” data from a customer’s smart meter.

Now, for instance, household members can be told, “That old refrigerator is costing you $148 per year more than a new, Energy Star compliant one. Have

Continue Reading


August 5, 2013 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

Who’s Best Equipped To Dominate Smart Grid Analytics?

written by Walter Wang

Here’s an article that raises some interesting points about the future of smart grid. Billionaire Tom Siebel of customer relationship management fame is asserting that companies like his, whose expertise is enterprise software, are going to be the leaders in smart grid analytics, rather than the hardware giants like GE

Continue Reading


June 24, 2013 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

In the World of Smart Grid, Energy Analytics Represents Huge Growth Market

written by Walter Wang

Whenever I speak to an audience about the burgeoning opportunities in clean energy, I’m careful not to overlook the analytics segment. The global EAUA market (energy analytics and utility analytics market, meaning solar analytics, oil & gas analytics, water analytics, and waste analytics), which, according to Global Energy World, is estimated to

Continue Reading


June 18, 2013 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

Cleantech in Court – Green Patent Complaint Update

written by Walter Wang

In the last month several green patent complaints were filed in the fields of LEDs, advanced batteries and smart grid.

LEDs

Bayco Products, Inc. v. Philips Intellectual Property & Standards

Continue Reading


April 1, 2013 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

Ron Wyden – Making Smart Grid a Reality in the U.S.

written by Walter Wang

Here’s some good news: U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Ron Wyden is a huge supporter of smart grid. In fact, he recently promised to do everything he can to move the government’s “clumsy … machinery” to make the U.S. electric grid a smart grid.

Continue Reading


March 26, 2013 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

Smart Grid is Revolutionizing Energy Transmission, Distribution, and Consumption

written by Walter Wang

As I’ve written a few times in the recent past, I believe that we have the proverbial cart before the horse when it comes to smart grid. We tend to think of this concept as “futuristic,” like flying cars, when, in fact, it’s what underpins the transition the world is making right now in the direction of energy efficiency, conservation, and renewables.

Continue Reading


March 15, 2013 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

Obama and the Reinvention of Energy Efficiency

written by Walter Wang

The energy efficiency industry received a nice boost this week during President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address. Obama called for cutting energy use by half over the next 20 years.

Such attention comes at a significant point in the history of the energy efficiency movement. It appears

Continue Reading


February 14, 2013 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Newer Posts
Older Posts

CleanTechnica.TV

Listen to CleanTech Talk

CleanTech Talk

Free CleanTechnica Newsletters

CleanTechnica's main newsletter (daily)

CleanTechnica's EV newsletter

CleanTechnica's wind newsletter

CleanTechnica's solar newsletter

CleanTechnica's weekly newsletter

Support Our Work

CleanTechnica Clothing & Cups

Recent CleanTechie Bios

Henk Rogers

JB Straubel

Lynn Jurich

Matt Moroney

Kyle Field

Paul Francis

Chelsea Harder

Griff Jurgens

Scott Cooney

The content produced by this site is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions and comments published on this site may not be sanctioned by, and do not necessarily represent the views of CleanTechnica, its owners, sponsors, affiliates, or subsidiaries.


Back To Top